A review by thebrandyrivers
All Involved by Ryan Gattis

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I was initially interested in this book because I thought the premise was unique, however I think the structure of All Involved ended up being a detriment to the narrative. Each section is a new day during the LA riots, and the sections have 3-4 different chapters, and each chapter is told from the POV of a character. The POV never changes back to someone we've already 'lived with', so I ended up being confused with who this new POV was in relation to all the other characters. 

Also because of this structure, I felt like I didn't spend enough time with some characters, and other times slogged through reading about someone's pointless POV. There are some great characters, like Payasa and Big Fate, and many times I wish I knew what their thoughts and feelings were over some random lil homie, or someone not involved. 

Because of this huge issue, I was left feeling like I wanted more.

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